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U.S. to resume oil, gas drilling on public land despite Biden campaign pledge

Published 04/15/2022, 06:53 PM
Updated 04/15/2022, 06:55 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed oil pump jack is placed on dollar banknotes in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed oil pump jack is placed on dollar banknotes in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Katanga Johnson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Friday said it has resumed plans for oil and gas development on federal lands, a move that could break a pledge Joe Biden made while campaigning for president.

The plan calls for the government to lease fewer acres for drilling than initially proposed, charge steeper royalties to oil and gas companies, and assess the climate impact of developing the acreage.

The proposal was quickly denounced by several environmental groups, with one calling it "a reckless failure of climate leadership." Oil industry groups praised the move but said it did not go far enough.

The announcement by the Interior Department, made late Friday before a holiday weekend, is the latest move to reform the federal oil and gas leasing program since Biden took office in January 2021. The administration has faced ongoing pressure to address high energy prices driven by the economic rebound from the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

    The Democrat had pledged several times during his presidential campaign to halt federal drilling auctions, but that effort has been stymied by a court challenge from Republican-led states.

During a campaign event in Hudson (NYSE:HUD), New Hampshire, in February 2020, Biden told the audience: "And by the way — no more drilling on federal lands, period. Period, period, period.”

The Biden administration has taken several steps to tame surging gasoline prices and inflation, made worse by crude oil prices spiking due to the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia by the United States and its allies.

Inflation is seen as a significant liability for Democrats heading into the November mid-term elections.

    Friday's announcement would make roughly 144,000 acres available for oil and gas drilling through a series of lease sales, an 80% reduction from the footprint of land that had been under evaluation for leasing, the Interior Department said in a statement.

    It would also require companies to pay royalties of 18.75% of the value of extracted oil and gas products, up from 12.5%.

    "How we manage our public lands and waters says everything about what we value as a nation," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who added that the move would "begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans' resources for the benefit of all current and future generations."

    The agency will issue final environmental assessments and sale notices for upcoming oil and gas lease sales as early as next week, including ensuring tribal consultation and broad community input, the Interior Department added.

The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, slammed the Biden administration's decision.

“The Biden administration’s claim that it must hold these lease sales is pure fiction and a reckless failure of climate leadership,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director for the group. “It’s as if they’re ignoring the horror of firestorms, floods and megadroughts, and accepting climate catastrophes as business as usual."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed oil pump jack is placed on dollar banknotes in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The move was praised by the energy industry as a step in the right direction.

"To really unleash American energy, the Biden Administration should continue to hold ongoing lease sales pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act, issue permits more expeditiously, and provide consistent regulatory certainty,” said Anne Bradbury, head of the American Exploration & Production Council, whose members include ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) and Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK).

Latest comments

So this is how it ends .....
Here Is what is so pathetic. The magnitude of evidence required, to prove a bad idea... is bad. Democratic ideology doesn't ever operate under a plain and simple concept of feasibility.I don't even necessarily morally disagree with the concepts, but they continually fail, because the economic concepts don't equate!!!You can't subsidize your way out of a problem you won't subsidize!I'm over 50 and overly tired of Democratic ignorance, but I'll take massive profits to the bank everyday!Seriously... the party that thinks they know everything! Proves everytime they get a chance... they know nothing!
So once again the right thing is move back towards President Trump’s policies.
No republcan president prior to Trump kissed Putins *******and that is why we are all paying for this mess.Negotiating with savage, heartless, dictators just for money and power must stop.
President Trump's "policies" werent policies. They were/are opportunities ( for his Brand ).
The desolvation of the dems strongest (former ??) plank ??America: A tale of TWO lost partys.
the oil company has so many leases already, they dont need anymore leases period. the fact that they dont want to drill on their existing leases is not Biden's doing. are they not drilling to gouge us at the pump? and we subsidize these gouges, what insanity!
It's the black gold rule. "He who has the black gold makes the rules".
Government is also making plenty of money off every barrel of oil.
Correct, and it’s the government that ultimately has the black gold.
why worry about global warming, when nuclear winter is coming????
I read climate change is due to the simple fact the North Pole has tilted 7 degrees closer to the sun that it was 20k years ago. They call it the annual northern nod to the sun. This Northern melt off had mostly occurred long before America was born. And, it's likely in 20k years the Northern hemisphere will have another vast ice cap extending down into the US midwest. All of Manhattan will be a mile below ice. It can't be stopped.
the tilting of the sun has been happening over millions of years and it's due to the slowing of the planets spin. ice ages have occurred many many times since. if the tilt was the cause, is inevitable and final then you better jump off soon and find a replacement home, silly! but if ice ages come then go away and warm up again, then its something else causes the ice. the ice comes when volcanic ash prevents the sun from warming the planet for thousands of years. global warming is the cause of volcanic activity by heating the poles and warming and stopping ocean currents. like it's happening now. just ask Etna in sicily.
"assess the climate impact of developing the acreage." lol... Ds think the man made climate change hoax is real.
now now now... tut tut.. a pledge is a pledge. honour it old man. lol
guar gum powder to rat eifect?
Of course the liberals will increase federal taxes & royalties! If Putin doesn't get us, and supply chains don't get us, the liberals will surely get us.
Finally the old fool woke up to reality
errr... not so sure about that. He cant even change his own diapers. lol
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